Apparently cotton is the traditional second year anniversary gift, I thought it was cardboard.

It is supposed to represent durability and the ability to adapt, I like that.

In a few days my husband and I will celebrate our second wedding anniversary.

When you get married people tell you many things about what a wedding (and often a marriage) should be, some are helpful, some are not, some are down right weird and have you wondering if they are in any position to give advice on the topic.

Our own wedding was done on our terms. We came up with a ceremony that combined Native American, Buhdist, Celtic and other blessings.

We wore what we wanted and got married at home in what would later become the circle garden the following spring.

The boys ended up being a ninja and a jedi (who could ask for anything more than that?!)

I was bare foot but wore a traditional gown (this suprized some people) my best friend lent me the beautiful vail her mom made for her wedding. My mom did my hair.

My dad built an alter that was meant to turn into a bond-fire as part of the ritual’s end.

We did the cooking/catering and turned our living room into a large dinning table. We can’t seem to attend any wedding we don’t cook for.

The Bearded Dragon was also in attendance.

We lucked into hundreds of dollar worth of beautiful flowers from an event I had at work a two days prior. I had not wanted to have flowers since they are such an expensive item.

Our guest gifts were trees to plant from The Arbor Day Foundation.

We didn’t plan much. We didn’t have many expectations consequently- we didn’t have any stress over the day. It was as a wedding should be, a time to bring our families together and honor the creation of a brand new one.

I wrote vows for the boys and read them through tears. (Ok, I leaked through the whole thing as I do at every wedding.)

We had some unexpected surprises: I stubbed the crap out of my toe while walking through the woods to get to the circle.

My dress is still stained, but every good ritual needs some blood letting.

We ended up with six dogs running around the place. I guess we never said NOT to bring them.

It was only right to include our dogs, or should I say they included themselves. Honey sat on my train most of the time.

I played my first prank on my new husband right away- when I pretended to ‘fall’ out of the tree stand we took pictures in.

We had set it up to be our “backwoods sobriety check point.”

To his credit he caught me…and thought it was hilarious.

The whole shebang cost less then 5k.

Our biggest expenses (aside from the rings my cousin made for us) was bags of sapphire gravel for the guest to go through. The same way we found the stones for our rings.

When I look back I am so pleased at what we did and how. The things that made it great are still the things that make us so happy in our life together.

Silliness.

Understanding.

And love, lots of love.

We have each put our partner first and the reward is a calm home, strong family bonds and the ability to accept and deal with life’s interesting times.

The last two years have taught me that it is the little things that matter most, the way he pours me my coffee in the morning and opens doors for me (I only recently realized that he does this every time we go anywhere.)

We got hitched the way we wanted and we are muddling through life in a similar fashion. Always keeping in mind what really matters.

Our family.

Also, quite possibly bond-fires. Bond-fires rock!

We ended the day with a short walk to watch the sunset on the lake. I still feel as blessed today as I did then and I am beyond grateful for the simple gift of a happy marriage.